IMF Will Only Support a 'Comprehensive Program' for Lebanon, Says Georgieva

An anti-government demonstrator holds a Lebanese flag as she stands on top of her car, during a countrywide lockdown to combat coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon April 21, 2020. (Reuters)
An anti-government demonstrator holds a Lebanese flag as she stands on top of her car, during a countrywide lockdown to combat coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon April 21, 2020. (Reuters)
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IMF Will Only Support a 'Comprehensive Program' for Lebanon, Says Georgieva

An anti-government demonstrator holds a Lebanese flag as she stands on top of her car, during a countrywide lockdown to combat coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon April 21, 2020. (Reuters)
An anti-government demonstrator holds a Lebanese flag as she stands on top of her car, during a countrywide lockdown to combat coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon April 21, 2020. (Reuters)

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday the fund would only support a "comprehensive program" for Lebanon that would tackle all the country's ills, including corruption.

"Our team is working very closely with their Lebanese counterparts," Georgieva told reporters. "We are stressing that it has to be a comprehensive program."

Lebanese officials began talks with the IMF last month to pull the Middle Eastern country out of the worst economic crisis in its history, reported AFP.

Georgieva called Lebanon's circumstances "very, very dire," and said "it has been so for a long time, and short of a strong government commitment to change the course of the country, the suffering of the Lebanese people would continue."

She said the Washington-based crisis lender was negotiating over a budget proposal that would address Lebanon's banking sector and "reforms that the country needs including more transparency for what the government does."

Lebanon defaulted on its sovereign debt in 2020, a first in its history.

Its currency has lost about 90 percent of its value on the black market and four out of five Lebanese now live below the poverty line, according to the United Nations, a situation made worse by triple-digit inflation.

Despite the economic collapse, the country's ruling class has blocked reforms that foreign donors say must happen before aid is dispensed.



Lebanon, Israel Ceasefire Deal Will Take Place in Three Phases and ‘Simultaneous’ Withdrawals

 Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP)
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Lebanon, Israel Ceasefire Deal Will Take Place in Three Phases and ‘Simultaneous’ Withdrawals

 Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP)

Informed sources revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that US-President elect Donald Trump agreed on the steps that President Joe Biden’s administration will take to ensure the success of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

Israel approved the ceasefire on Tuesday night after Lebanon had already agreed to it.

The sources, which followed up on the negotiations for the 60-day truce, said the steps call for the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters and their weapons from the South where the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon is deployed. In return, Israeli forces will withdraw from southern Lebanon.

More negotiations through American mediators will take place throughout the process.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Trump “gave his blessing” to the process during his meeting with Biden at the White House two weeks ago.

A committee led by the US will oversee the implementation of the withdrawal. France, Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL are also part of the committee.

Asharq Al-Awsat learned that Hezbollah’s withdrawal will take place in three 20-day phases. The first withdrawal will take place in the western sector.

It will coincide with an Israeli pullout from areas it occupied in that region. A strengthened Lebanese army force and UNIFIL troops will deploy in their place.

The second phase will cover the central sector and follow the same process.

The residents of the frontline southern villages will not be allowed to return to their homes immediately until they are deemed safe and after ensuring that no Hezbollah members or weapons remain there.

Residents of the so-called second and third line of villages south of the Litani River will be allowed to return to their homes immediately.

The source expected the US to play an “effective role” in the mechanism to oversee the withdrawal. It did not clarify whether any American forces will take part in the process.

It revealed that Britain and other countries will “exert special efforts to verify whether illegitimate weapons are being smuggled to Hezbollah.”

The five-member committee will not replace the tripartite committee already in place and that includes Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL.